Cedars Manor School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cedars Manor School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

Staff welcome them with warmth and kindness. Leaders and teachers strive to provide the very best possible education for all pupils. The school's ethos of being 'a happy school where expectations are high, and individuals are valued' is reflected in its work.

Cedars Manor is an inclusive school where the community's diversity is celebrated and valued. Leaders make sure that pupils have opportunities to learn about other cultures and faiths. They plan memorable and enjoyable events for pupils to benefit from.

Pupils are helped to try their best a...nd achieve well.

Pupils work well together. Pupils are kind and polite to each other because adults are kind and polite to them.

Leaders and staff expect all pupils to behave well and abide by the rules. Pupils live up to these expectations. They do not interfere and prevent others from learning.

They say that bullying rarely happens and, if it does, teachers sort it out. Pupils feel safe in school. They know that they can speak to any adult if they have a worry or concern.

All members of the school community work to make sure that Cedars Manor is a calm and purposeful place to be.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders make sure that reading is a top priority. Teachers in the early years and Years 1 and 2 teach phonics well.

They keep a close eye on pupils who are falling behind and provide extra support to help them catch up. This approach is starting to have a positive impact on pupils' learning of sounds and enjoyment of books. Teachers read stories and share poems to help pupils become familiar with a range of literature.

As pupils become older, they are taught the skills they need to understand what they are reading in more depth. Pupils in Year 6 read 'Kensuke's Kingdom'. Pupils enjoyed describing the characters and using drama to help them understand dilemmas.

Pupils read to adults regularly. This includes older pupils who need extra support. The regular reading sessions help teachers understand who is reading fluently and who is struggling.

However, this valuable information is not used well enough in some classes.

In mathematics, teachers consider what pupils already know and give them time to practise new skills. Pupils' abilities to reason and problem-solve are improving because leaders have trained teachers to support these skills.

Children in early years enjoyed practising numbers as part of a Halloween-themed activity. They accurately identified the numbers on the witches' hats and then counted the same number of spiders to put in their 'cauldron'. Parents working alongside their children spoke positively about the benefits of the regular parent workshops.

They told us that it helps them to know what their children are learning and how to help them. Pupils learn how to use mathematical instruments, such as protractors, correctly and with care.

Some subjects are more developed than others.

In science, for example, leaders have made sure that there is an order to the teaching of scientific knowledge and skills to help pupils to learn more and remember more. In some subjects, such as history, geography and design and technology, pupils learn about some topics in depth, but they do not gain a strong and deep body of knowledge in all the topics they study.

Leaders make sure that the education they provide is meaningful to all pupils regardless of their starting points or possible difficulties.

Experienced teachers and teaching assistants support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they prepare different tasks with smaller steps for pupils who are struggling. This approach helps pupils to understand and to reach the right answer.

Leaders and teachers make learning exciting for pupils. They plan trips to places of interest as well as providing interesting activities closer to home. Leaders' plans for a school allotment reflect their ambition to create accessible fun experiences for all pupils.

Recent changes to the leadership team have helped to improve the quality of education and pupils' behaviour. Pupils learn without being disturbed by others. Governors understand that a permanent leadership arrangement is needed for improvements to continue.

Governors are experienced and effective. They are not afraid to take difficult decisions to secure improvement.

Parents are positive about the school.

The comment of one parent, typical of those shared with inspectors, was that, 'Staff are friendly, approachable, kind, fair and diligent.'

Staff enjoy being part of Cedars Manor. Staff told inspectors that they work hard because they care about the pupils and their families.

They are appreciative of the support leaders give them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are very clear that keeping children safe in school is their responsibility.

Leaders make sure that their knowledge is up to date. Regular training and staff briefings keep safeguarding in everyone's minds. Staff appreciate the clarity of the 'niggle sheet' system in place for raising a concern.

They are equally clear that they can always speak directly to a leader or member of the safeguarding team. All staff who responded to the survey said that they felt pupils were safe in school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Governors should put a permanent senior leadership team in place to sustain the improvements already being made.

. Leaders should make sure that the good practice that helps pupils with reading is used more widely across the school so that all pupils benefit from feedback on their reading skills. .

The school's curriculum is not planned with sufficient coherence and structure in some subjects, such as history, geography and design and technology. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken to plan next year's curriculum and train staff in how to deliver it that they are in the process of bringing this about.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, also called Cedars Manor School, to be good in November 2015.

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